Fantasy Book Club discussion

For me, a lot of the fun of reading fantasy is trying to imagine myself in the world. Sure, when I was younger, my daydreams were all about me being the hero, or at least his trusty sidekick, but these days, I get just as much fun simply trying to imagine what it would be like to live in a world with magic, or dragons, or whatever.

But a few weeks ago, I figured out a way to take that daydreaming a step further, and it's completely changing the way I engage with the books I read. The Looking Glass is an online newspaper kind of thing that prints "breaking news from the worlds you'd rather live in." And the fun part is, anyone can submit articles.

The idea is that you take a look at the book you just read, and try to imagine what people who live in that world would think about the events. It's so weird, trying to actually put yourself inside the fantasy world and then see the story from that perspective. Suddenly, little things seem huge. For example, I recently re-read The Fellowship of the Rings, and then posted an article about a missing cave troll child, last seen near the Mines of Moria.

It's like, suddenly I feel like I'm actually living in those books, constantly looking at what's going on and wondering how it effects the common people.

Anyway, I just wondered if other people have ever tried doing something like this. For me, it's made the books I read feel so much more real and engaging.

Very nice idea! I always imagine to be in the books that I read, I invent different stories with the same characters or in the same world. Unfortunately, I am not good enough in English to write articles, but I can read them with pleasure!

I'm glad you like the idea, Leady. And remember, if you read an article you like on The Looking Glass. Share it, or like it, or +1 it, or tweet it. The more people who know about it, the better it will be.

Jefferson wrote: "I'm glad you like the idea, Leady. And remember, if you read an article you like on The Looking Glass. Share it, or like it, or +1 it, or tweet it. The more people who know about it, the better it ..."

Sounds like a fanfiction type of site.

Not exactly, Marc. So far, most of the articles are actually being posted by the authors. But when readers contribute news articles, I'd characterize it as being more like a book report, with a twist, although there is an element of fanfic to it, certainly. As editor, I try to keep the articles focused on an event from the book, retelling it from a slightly different point of view, while still avoiding spoilers. Fan-fic would be more about telling new stories.

The reason I encourage people to share the articles is not because the articles themselves are great fiction, but because the good ones help to promote the book they reference, while still being fun in and of themselves. Have a look at some of the articles and you'll see what I mean.

Jefferson wrote: "Not exactly, Marc. So far, most of the articles are actually being posted by the authors. But when readers contribute news articles, I'd characterize it as being more like a book report, with a twi..."

So perhaps this thread belongs in the Author Self Promotion folder, which I've been considering since you posted it.

Jefferson wrote: "Fan-fic would be more about telling new stories."

Not necessarily. Fanfic can be telling the story of a lesser character, or presentation of the same story from his perspective. I try to stay within the bounds of the story as much as possible when I write them. A story about the battle in Gondor told from the POV of the healer would be a fanfic.

Possibly, Sandra. It's really a hybrid subject, because it addresses all sorts of potential people: those who want to promote their books, those who want to tell other people about books they've read, those who want a new way to find out about books to read, and maybe even journalism students who want a way to practice their craft. That's why I posted in the general discussion, but I'm happy to bow to your judgement if you see it differently.

Yes, Marc, I agree that there's an element of fanfic to some of the articles that are posted there. More in some, less in others. But to characterize the entire site as a fanfic site would be misleading. It's really a book-lover's site, and attracts different types of book people for different reasons. Potential fanfic writers are one of those types.

Jefferson wrote: "Possibly, Sandra. It's really a hybrid subject, because it addresses all sorts of potential people: those who want to promote their books, those who want to tell other people about books they've re..."

I have to agree with Sandra. I'm going to relocate this thread to the Author Promotional folder.

Thanks, Jon